Ranking How The Miami Dolphins' Round 1 Options Would Make Me Feel
Here's how happy or upset the Dolphins could make me feel tonight
Typically, I reserve my Miami Dolphins content for other places. However, this piece is more of a fun exercise than a serious article.
Today, I will rank how each of Miami’s realistic options at No. 21 would make me feel. They have a lot of options thanks to savvy team building and the draft class’ strength at premium positions.
Because of their numerous options, I will rank them in tiers. The players are not ranked inside of the tier I put them in, and this is not predictive. It’s more of a wishlist than anything else.
Alright, let’s see just how upset I anticipate being tonight.
Don’t worry. We’ll get back to regular content after the draft by grading draft classes.
Dolphins Draft Pick Tier Rankings
The “I Would Do Cartwheels” Tier
This tier is for players who would send me to the hospital because I definitely can’t do a successful cartwheel.
Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia
Troy Fautanu, OL, Washington
Laiatu Latu, EDGE, UCLA
Jer’Zhan Newton, IDL, Illinois
Terrion Arnold, CB, Alabama
These are the five players I’d be the most excited about. I’ve spoken at length this process about my love for Amarius Mims and why his best fit is probably with the Dolphins. If you’re committing to Tua, you must also commit to the OL.
Fautanu is a perfect fit for the Dolphins because of his positional and scheme versatility. He could play left guard in Year 1 and kick outside to tackle whenever Terron Armstead hangs up the cleats.
The Dolphins’ defensive line lacks depth and young talent. Latu and Newton are the top-ranked players at their respective positions, making them home-run picks in my book. Newton, specifically, is a favorite of mine for Miami.
Arnold ranking high will probably surprise some Dolphins fans. The reason I’d be so happy with taking him is because he’s my top-rated defensive player in this entire class. Cornerback is a sneaky need for the Dolphins, and Arnold is the best.
The “We’re Still Cooking” Tier
This tier is for players who would be met with a hearty “heck, yeah.”
Brian Thomas Jr., WR, LSU
Jared Verse, EDGE, Florida State
Cooper DeJean, DB, Iowa
Byron Murphy, IDL, Texas
Many of the same positions pop up in this tier as the last one. The exception is Thomas Jr., who is the only receiver I’d be interested in taking at No. 21 overall — besides the consensus top three.
His fit in Miami’s offense is incredibly appealing. He has the speed to maintain the team’s vertical-threat pressure on defenses and the size to give them something a little different down the field and in the redzone.
Verse and Murphy are excellent prospects who I have ranked just below Latu and Newton at their respective positions. Verse’s floor is incredibly appealing, with Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips still recovering from injuries. Murphy’s upside is intriguing with DC Anthony Weaver’s history of developing IDL talent.
Lastly, DeJean is my CB2, so he sneaks into this tier. He’s appealing as an outside CB option for the Dolphins, but he’s also an exciting option at the “STAR” position. DeJean’s size and instincts could make him a potent slot defender, similar to how Baltimore used Kyle Hamilton last season.
The “I Mean, Sure?” Tier
This tier is for players who would give me precisely this reaction.
JC Latham, OT, Alabama
Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma
Graham Barton, OL, Duke
Jackson Powers-Johnson, IOL, Oregon
Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama
As you can see, this is where many offensive line prospects land for me. Barton and Latham are probably my favorite of the bunch, though. Barton’s positional versatility makes him more appealing than Powers-Johnson on the interior.
Overall, I’m not high on taking an interior offensive lineman in the first round. The Dolphins don’t value that position too highly, and they paid Aaron Brewer like a starting center in free agency.
Latham and Guyton need some development, but I think Latham is more pro-ready. Both are right tackles, so setting them up as the team’s future left tackle is more of a projection than someone like Mims, who practiced at left tackle while at Georgia.
McKinstry rounds out this group because I think he’s a good player, but he lacks Arnold’s upside and DeJean’s versatility. If they draft McKinstry, that tells me they’re legitimately concerned about outside cornerback for this coming season.
The “That’s Gonna Be a No For Me, Dawg” Tier
This tier is reserved for players who would make me roll my eyes, sigh deeply, and then immediately start yapping about why it’s actually a genius pick.
Any Non-Consensus Top-4 WR
Any True Safety Prospect
Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson
Jordan Morgan, OL, Arizona
Kingsley Suamataia, OT, BYU
Taking any of the following wide receivers, like Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell, Ladd McConkey, Keon Coleman, or Troy Franklin, would be too much of a reach. Those players are good, but the Dolphins have bigger fish to fry.
I could be talked into McConkey or Mitchell, but even I would have difficulty defending the other receivers listed above.
The safety class has some good players, but none are worth the 21st overall pick. Talk to me when No. 55 rolls around.
Wiggins falls into a similar sub-category as Micthell and McConkey. He’s a good player, but I have reservations about specifically the Dolphins taking him that high. In Miami, he’d be a pure slot with little versatility. This class is deep with slot options so using No. 21 on one isn’t wise.
Morgan and Suamataia would just be straight-up reaches against my board. If the Dolphins traded back late into Round 1, Morgan makes a ton of sense, given his positional versatility. No. 21 is just too rich for my blood.